How do I ask my neighbour to move his balcony smoking without turning it into a fight about his home?
Neighbours“Just shut the window for ten minutes,” my neighbour said. “I only have three cigarettes out here.”
His balcony is below our kitchen window. In the early evening, cigarette smoke sometimes comes into the room while my son does homework at the table. Closing the window helps with the immediate smell, but on warm evenings it also leaves the room stuffy. I don't know what exposure is left, and I don't want to pretend I can measure it by smell.
He already moved his smoking outside because his partner asked him not to smoke indoors. When I asked whether he could use the other end of the balcony, he said, “Then the flat on that side will complain.” I can see that simply shifting it a few feet might move the problem.
The [CDC's guidance on smoke in the home](https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/secondhand-smoke/home.html) says there is no safe amount of secondhand smoke exposure and that fans, ventilation and air purifiers do not get rid of it. I don't want to buy a fan and tell my son that settles the concern.
We have usually been friendly. What is a reasonable first request here: talk about a place away from other people's open windows, check the building's smoking policy, or ask management to help? I want a change that reduces smoke entering homes, not a timetable for when we are allowed to open ours.